Rotary engine.



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No. 872,801. PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

' A. G. EEK & A. F. GBDERQUIST.

ROTARY- ENGINE. I

APPLICATION FILED APR.23.1907.

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ATTES rinrTnD STATES PATENT orrrcn.

ALBZfN O. EEK AND ADOLF F. OEDERQUIST, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

Application filed April 23. 1907. serial No. 369,884.

provements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification, containing a full, clear, and exact descriptlon, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

Our inventlon relates to a rotary engine,

our object being to construct a simple, inexpensive rotary engine, which will develop a maximum amount of power with a minimum consumption of steam, and which engine runs evenly and with a minimum amount of vibration and wear, and said engine being provided with a simple, easily operated inlet valve and an automatically operating throttle valve.

Our invention consists incertain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of a rotary engine of our improved. construction; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig 2; Fig. 4 is an end view of the valve housing, as seen looking in the direction indicated by the arrow .4, in Fig. 2;.

Fig. 5 is an elevation looking into the right hand end of the engine cylinder, with the head or end plate of said cylinder removed; Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, and with the rotary piston removed from the cylinder; Fig. 7 is a view looking at the inside face of the right hand cylinder head, or plate; Fig. 8 is a view of the reverse side of the plate seen in Fig. 7,

and with the valve cylinderremoved; Fig. 9

is an elevation of the left hand side of a plate forming a part of the valve, and which fits against the face of the cylinder head seen in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is an elevation showing the reverse side of the plate seen in Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a plan view of the plate seen in Figs. 9 and 10; Fig. 12 is a vertical section taken on the line 12*12 of Fig. 11; Fig. 18 is a vertical section taken on the line 13 13 of Fig. 11; Fig. 14 is a vertical section taken on the line 1 1-11 of Fig. 2; Fig. 15 is a detail section showing a rotating valve plate and a governor plate operating in conjunction therewith; Fig. 16 is a vertical section taken transversely through the center of the governor plate made use of in the valve of our improved engine; Fig. 17 is an end elevation of the governor plate; Fig. 18 is an elevation of a disk provided with integral arms which engage the governor plate; Fig. 19 is an end elevation of the engine shaft, and showing the connection with the governor; Fig. 20 is an elevation of the cylindrical block which forms the rotary piston of the engine; Fig. 21 is an elevation of the rotary piston, with parts thereof broken away; Fig. 22 is a side elevation of the piston, with parts thereof removed; Fig. 23 is an enlarged section taken on the line 2323 of Fig. 21; Fig. 2 1 is an elevation of one of the sliding plates, or heads, carried by the rotary piston; Fig. 25 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 2525 of Fig. 24; Fig. 26 is an end elevation of the outer portion of one of the heads, 0r plates, with the packing strip removed therefrom; Fig. 27 is a vertical section taken on the line 27-27 of Fig. 25; Fig. 28 is a horizontal section taken through the end of one of the piston heads, or plates, and showing the packing strip carried thereby; Fig. 29 is a perspective view of one of the packing strips carried by the tops of the piston heads, or plates; Fig. 30 is a perspective view of part of a packing strip located in the engine cylinder, and against which the surface of the piston bears; Fig. 31 is a detail section illustrating this packing strip in position.

' Referring by numerals to the accompanyin drawings :1 designates the engine cylinder, which is in the form of a vertically disposed ring, and being supported in any suitable manner upon a base or body plate 2. The opening in the cylinder is approximately oval in cross section, with the interior surface 3 at the lower side of the ring concentric for a distance of approximately 120 with the engine shaft which passes horizontally through the center of the cylinder. Formed in the body of the ring, on opposite sides thereof, are passageways 4, the lower ends of which terminate in ports 5, which communicate with the interior of the cylinder at the upper ends of the concentric surface 3; and formed through the upper portion of the ring, and establishing communication between the opening in the cylinder and the upper ends of the passageways 4 are auxiliary exhaust ports 6. Formed in the inner surface of the cylinder. at the top thereof, and between the ports 6, is a horizontally disposed recess 7, in which is located a pair of packing strips 8, and there being expansive coil springs 9 arranged between said packing strips and the 1 cylinder to normally force said strips onto the surface of the rotary piston operatingin the cylinder.

10 designates ports formed through the right hand end of the cylinder, which ports lead from the upper ends of the passageways 4. A cylinder head 11, in the form of a circular plate, is bolted to theleft hand end of the cylinder, there being a bearing 12 formed in the center of said plate and formed in the inner face thereof is a groove 13, oval in outline, and concentric with the opening in the ring forming the cylinder.

Journaled for rotation in the bearing 12 is an engine shaft 14, the left hand end of which is journaled in a bearing 15 fixed to the base 2; and fixed on said engine shaft, adjacent said bearing, is a pulley 16, adapted to receive a belt utilized for transmitting the rotary motion developed by the engine. Bolted to the right hand end of the cylinder is a plate 17, in the center of which is formed a bearing 18, in which the shaft 12 operates; and formed in the inner face of this plate 17 is a groove 19, oval in outline, and a counterpart of the groove 13. Formed integral with the outer face of the plate 17 is a ring 20, with the center of which, around the bearing 18, is formed integral a collar 21.

22 designates a pair of ports, which are formed in the inner face of the plate 17, and which coincide with the ports 10; and leading downwardly from said ports 22, through the body of the plate 17, are passageways 23, the lower end of each of which communicates with a port 24, and a small triangular port 25, all of said last mentioned ports being radially arranged in the upper half of the face of the ring 20. Formed in the lower half of the face of the ring is a port 26, which leads inwardly, and thence downwardly, to a port 27 formed in the face of the plate 17.

Bolted to the outer face of the plate 17 is a cylindrical valve housing 28, the outer end of which is closed by a plate 29, through which the engine shaft 14 passes; and leading into the top of said valve housing is a fluid pressure inlet pipe 30; and leading from a passageway 3 1, formed in the bottom of the valve housing, and which communicates with the port 27, is an exhaust pipe 32.

Arranged for rotation on the collar 21 is a throttle valve plate 33, through the upper portion of which is formed an inlet port 34 and formed in the inner face of said plate, on opposite sides of the port 34, are exhaust ports 35, which are joined by a segmental passageway 36, which extends through the 65 body of the plate 33; and leading from the lower portion of said passageway is an exhaust port 37, which communicates with the exhaust port 26.

38 designates small inlet ports which are formed in the outer edge or periphery of the plate 33, and which communicate w ith inlet ports 39 formed in the inner face of said plate, and which last mentioned ports are adapted to communicate with the ports 25 in the ring 40.

Arranged for rotation in the bearing on the plate 29 is a sleeve 41, which extends into the valve housing 28, and on the inner end of which is fixed a disk 42, which is provided with a plurality of horizontally rojecting arms 43, which latter are detachab y fixed to the periphery of the plate 33. A collar 44 is rigidly fixed to the outer end of the sleeve 41 and integral with said collar is a hand lever 45, provided with a spring actuated latch 46, the point of which is adapted to engage the notches of a segment 47 fixed on the outer face of the plate 29, thus providing means for shifting the throttle plate 33 from one position to another and the notches in the segment 47 are so spaced as to correctly regulate the position of said plate 33, and, consequently regulate the positions of the ports therein relative the ports formed in the ring 20.

Fixed on the shaft 14, within the ,valve chamber, is a sleeve 48 and formed integral with one end thereof is a disk 49 which bears directly against the face of the plate 33, and through which disk 49 is formed, at equal distances apart, three radially arranged openings 50, through which fluid pressure passes from the valve chamber to the inlet port 34. Mounted for rotation on the sleeve 48 is a sleeve 51, with the left hand end of which is formed integral a pair of radially arranged governor plates 52, which bear directly on the outer face of the disk 49, and which governor plates are intended to regulate the amount of fluid pressure passing through the ports 50 and inlet port 34. Formed integral with the right hand end of the sleeve 51 is a series of radially arranged arms 53, the outer ends of which are notched, as designated by 54, to receive fingers 55 which are carried by the edge of a disk 56 which bears directly against the face of the disk 42; and said disk being formed integral with a sleeve 57 which is loosely mounted on the shaft 14, and which passes through the sleeve 41.

Detachably arranged on the right hand end of the sleeve 48 is a packing plate 58, which is provided in its outer face with a packing ring 59, which latter bears upon the inner face of the disk 56.

Fixed on the projecting end of the sleeve 57 is a collar 60, with which is formed integral an arm 61, to the outer end of which is pivotally connected the lower end of a rod 62, which is moved vertically by the action of an ordinary engine governor, (not shown.)

'lhe rotary piston 63 of the engine, which will 110w be described, is in the form of a cylindrical block rigidly fixed on the engine shaft 14, within the cylinder 1, and is of such size as that its periphery bears directly against the under side of the packing strip 8; and formed in the rotary piston is a plurality of radially arranged slots 64, in which are ar ranged to slide the heads or sliding plates forming a part of the piston. 'lhe periphery, or surface, of the piston is cut away at the outer corners thereof, as designated by 65, and fixed upon the surfaces of said cut away portions, at equal distances apart, are blocks 66 and positioned against the side faces of the rotary piston are packing plates 67, the edges of which are provided with laterally pro ecting integrallugs 68, which fill the spaces between the blocks 66; and arranged in the pockets 69 formed in the side faces of the piston, and bearing against the packing plates to force the same outwardly are expansive coil springs 70.

The sliding plates, or heads, 71 which are arranged in the slots 64 in the piston 63 are rectangular in form, and provided on the lower ends of their sides with rollers 72, which travel in the oppositely arranged pair of grooves 13 and 19 and loosely arranged on the ends of said plates are vertically disposed packing strips 73, which are normally forced outward by the action of expansive coil springs 74 arranged in pockets formed in the ends of said plates. Formed in theouter edge of each plate is a dovetailed groove 75, in which is arranged for vertical movement a sectional packing strip 76, the same being normally forced outward by expansive coil springs 77 located in pockets formed in each plate below the dove tailed groove therein. Leading from the opening in the bottom of the cylinder 1 is a drain aperture 78, from which leads a discharge pipe 79, for the purpose of carrying off any water of condensation which may accumulate in the piston chamber.

The operation of our improved engine is as follows: In starting the engine, the handle 45 is engaged and shifted in either direction, corresponding to the direction in which it is desired to rotate the engine shaft, and the point of the latch 46 is engaged in one of the middle notches of the segment 47, which action imparts rotary motion to the sleeve 41, and in turn partially rotates the plate 33 so as to bring one of the ports 39 into position where it registers with one of the ports 25; and, when so positioned, the opposite port 39 is in a position above the opposite port 35, and the port 34 is in position between the inlet ports 24 and out off therefrom. Steam enters the port 38 of the port 39 communieating with the port 25, and passes from thence through the passageway 23, through the coinciding ports 22 and 10 on the corresponding side of the engine; and from thence through the passage 4 into the piston chamber within the cylinder; and, expanding in said piston chamber, bears against the plate 71 immediately adjacent the port 5, which plate is moved upwardly by reason of its rollers engaging in the grooves 13 and 19, and this action is continued, thereby imparting rotary motion to the piston 63 and shaft 14 and parts carried thereby. Each head or plate 71 moves through the lower portion of the chamber in the cylinder for a distance of approximately 120, and in so doing, the packing strips 76 bear. against the surface 3 between the ports 5; and when said plates pass through the upper portion of the plate in the cylinder, they are drawn inwardly by the action of the rollers 72 operating in the upper portions of the grooves 13 and 19. After one of the sliding plates has passed the opposite port 5, the steam behind said plate exhausts through said last mentioned port, through the corresponding passage 4, from thence through the corresponding ports 10 and 22, thence downwardly through the adjacent passageway 23, through the port 24 at the lower end of said passageway, through the adjacent exhaust port 35 which coincides with said port 24, through the passageway 36, through the coinciding ports 37 and 26, and from thence through the port 27 and passageway 31 to the exhaust pipe 32.

The engine is operated as just described when starting up or when running with a very light load; and when it is desired to cause the engine to exert its maximum power,

the handle 45 is shifted to one of the outer notches of the segment 44, which movement partially rotates the throttle valve plate 33 so as to bring the inlet port 34 into direct alinement with one of the ports 24, said movement cutting off the ports 25 and 39. The disk 49, integral with the sleeve 48, which is fixed on the shaft 14, in rotating with said shaft, successively brings the ports 30 into direct alinement with the port 34 and the port 24, with which said last mentioned port is in alinement; and during this brief period of time, the steam will pass through the three alined ports and be delivered in the manner hereinbefore described to the engine cylinder; and, as soon as the ports 50 in the disk 49 pass the port 34, the flow of steam will be temporarily out off, and the steam delivered to the engine cylinder will expand behind the corresponding plate therein, and thus the expansive power of the steam is obtained in imparting rotary motion to the shaft. The disk 49 is so fixed on the shaft 14 as that the ports 50 register with the port 34 immediately after one of the plates has passed the port 5 through which steam is being admitted to the engine cylin- &

der, and thus said plate is moved forward along the surface 3 for a short distance by live steam, and is moved the remainder of the distance along said surface 3 by the expansion of the steam.

It will be readily understood how the engine may be easily and quickly reversed by movin the handle 45 from one side of the vertica center of the engine to the opposite side, which action reverses the inlet and exhaust ports, and consequently reverses the direction of the flow of steam, and in turn reversing the direction of the rotation of the piston and engine shaft.

The area of the opening through the alined ports 84 and 24 is automatically regulated by the governing action of the plates 52, which are automatically shifted in front of said alined openings by the rotation of the sleeve 51, which is moved by the fingers 55, carried by the disk 56, which latter is integral with the sleeve 57, and which sleeve is rotated on the shaft 14 by the actuation of the arm 61, the same being pivotally connected to the vertically moving rod 62 of the governor. Thus, when the load on the engine is temporarily diminished, and the tendency of said engine is to increase in speed, the governor driven from the engine shaft and operating in the usual manner, shifts the various parts just described so as to shift the plates 52, thus diminishing the area of the steam inlet ports; and a reversal of the movements just described will take place and increase or open the area of the inlet ports, should the engine temporarily slacken its speed.

A rotary engine of our improved type utilizes a comparatively small amount of fluid pressure in developing high power, and said engine can be easily and quickly re versed; and, when operating at high speed, the flow of steam to the cylinder is automatically governed.

1. In a rotary engineya cylinder, a rotary piston eccentrically positioned and arranged for rotation in the cylinder, the edges of the periphery of the piston being cut away, spring pressed packing plates arranged on the sides of the piston, lugs integral with the edges of the plates, which lugs project over the cut away edges of the periphery of the piston, a plurality of radially arranged sliding plates carried by the piston, and spring pressed packing strips arranged in the outer ends of said plates.

2. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston eccentrically positioned and arranged for rotation in the cylinder, the edges of the periphery of the piston being cut away, spring pressed packing plates arranged 011 the sides of the piston, lugs integral with the edges of the plates, which lugs project over the cut away edges of the periphery of the piston, a plurality of radially arranged sliding plates carried by the piston, spring pressed packing strips arranged in the outer ends of said plates, and spring pressed packing strips arranged on the sides of said plates.

3. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston eccentrically positioned and arranged for rotation in the cylinder, the edges of the periphery of the piston being cut away, spring pressed packing plates arranged on the sides of the piston, lugs integral with the edges of the plates, which lugs project over the cut away edges of the periphery of the piston, a plurality of radially arranged sliding plates carried by the piston, spring pressed packing strips arranged in the outer ends of said plates, spring pressed packing strips arranged on the sides of said plates, and rollers journaled upon the ends of the plates which engage in grooves formed in the heads of the cylinder for causing the plates to slide in the cylinder.

4:. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, a shaft journaled therein, a rotary piston fixed on the sh aft within the cylinder, the edges of the periphery of the piston being cut away, spring pressed packing plates arranged on the sides of the piston, lugs integral with the edges of the plates, which lugs project over the cut away edges of the periphery of the piston; plates arranged to slide in the rotary piston, spring pressed packing strips arranged in the outer ends of said plates, and spring pressed packing strips arranged on the sides of said plates; a valve housing, a throttle valve plate arranged for operation in the valve housing and constructed to direct the flow of fluid pressure to the cylinder, and means arranged on the exterior of the valve housing and connected to the valve plate for regulating the position thereof.

5. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, a shaft journaled therein, a rotary piston fixed on the shaft within the cylinder, the edges of the periphery of the piston being cut away, spring pressed packing plates arranged on the sides of the piston, lugs integral with the edges of the plates, which lugs project over the cut away edges of the periphery of the piston; plates arranged to slide in the rotary piston, spring pressed packing strips arranged in the outer ends of said plates, and spring pressed packing strips arranged on he sides of said plates; a valve housing, 'a throttle valve plate arranged for operation in the valve housing and constructed to direct the flow of fluid pressure to the cylinder, means arranged on the exterior of the valve housing and connected to the valve plate for regulating the position thereof, and a disk fixed on the shaft within the valve housing for regulating the supply of fluid pressure to the throttle valve.

6. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, a shaft journaled therein, a rotary piston fixed on the shaft within the cylinder, the edges of the periphery of the piston being cut away, spring pressed packing plates arranged on the sides of the piston, lugs integral W1th the edges of the plates, which lugs project over the cut away edges of the periphery of the piston; plates arranged to slide in the rotary piston, spring pressed packing strips w arranged in the outer ends of said plates, and spring pressed packing strips arranged on the sides of said plates, a valve housing, a throttle valve plate arranged for operation in the valve housing and constructed to direct the flow of fluid pressure to the cylinder, means arranged on the exterior of the valve housing and connected to the valve plate for regulating the position thereof, a disk fixed on .the

shaft Within the valve housing for regulating the supply of fluid pressure to the throttle valve, and governor plates arranged for operation Within the valve housing adjacent 20 the disk for controlling the flow of fluid pressure through the rotating disk and to the throttle valve plate.

In testimony whereof, We have signed our names to this specification, in presence 25 of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

E. L. WALLACE. 

